CHERRY HILL – The Hermits are starting to show signs of wear and tear. That’s what happens when you play in big games so often.

The St. Augustine Prep boys’ soccer team lost an important game Monday, as the sixth-seeded Hermits fell to third-seed Cherry Hill West 3-0 in the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Tournament quarterfinals.

Heading into the day, the Prep had won a 1-0 overtime game against Middle Township in the tournament’s first round and lost 3-0 to Salesianum (Del.) Saturday. Coach Steve Rolando saw how it affected his team.

The Lions opened the scoring in the 33rd minute as Elliot Cumba controlled a pass from Dimitri Malliaros in the Hermits’ box and sent it in. In the second half, St. Augustine fell victim to Ishmail Boakai, who had two assists to Brandon Nam and Eric Reyes-Munoz.

“The one goal, I’ll give them the first goal – they actually worked it in. But the other two goals, we had four defenders and they had two forwards running,” Rolando said. “We gave the ball away and they made us pay. With numbers up like that, typically I think these guys are much better than that. My hats off to Cherry Hill.”

It’s rare to see the Prep get beaten inside, but that’s what happened on both passes from Boakai. His position on the field allows him to take advantage of spaces between the backline.

“I definitely enjoy setting up my teammates,” Boakai said. “It’s my position as a center attacking mid to pass the ball and I love doing my job and making my teammates happy.”

Moving the ball was a problem for the Hermits as the offense seemed to stall in the midfield and attacking third. Passes lanes were being jumped and there weren’t many opportunities to work things back and through.

Jake Fernandez had a chance in the first half on a breakaway, but Lions goalie Andrew Robertson came out to meet him and altered the shot enough to send it wide.

“Once we were able to clear our midfielders and get the ball up to the forward, we weren’t joining in,” Rolando said. “Our outside backs and our defenders were slow with their hands in their pockets. It’s like an island with two guys versus six on an island. Our chances aren’t very good.

“They made us pay. When they had their opportunities, they hurt (us). And we had some shots on the end that were just not on frame. The game is not hard, you have to make the goalie use his gloves.”

Unfortunately for the Hermits, there’s no rest in sight. St. Augustine will hope to grab a couple of wins and improve itself with the playoffs right around the corner.

“We have another game (Tuesday), so we don’t have any time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Rolando said. “We have to keep it going. Then we play Delran on Thursday. They’re coming to play us and Delran is, I would think they’re the best team in South Jersey. But this is the schedule I wanted.

“I was working on the schedule in January and February because I wanted to test these kids. Coming into the playoffs you want to be ready.”